The Lucky Ones
by LuckiestWitchAtHogwarts
Summary: In a world where almost the entire world has been degraded into zombie-like humanoids called "the Reapers", the government of Broken France send out two kinds of hunters - food, and the Cure. Adrien works for the government, to find the Cure to save him and the population. Marinette is the Cure, and Project Ladybug begins. Poison/Cure AU, No Miraculous AU. T for mature themes.
1. Before This - Prologue

The Lucky Ones - Before This (Prologue)

* * *

2000\. The last known uninfected year, before the virus spread through touch, and became world-wide in a matter of months. New babies born without the virus, but were easily infected by their mothers and spread it to others.

As the new generation grew and became more hands-on, the symptoms of the virus broke. Their brains were inching towards rotting, painlessly, from the inside out, completely degrading by the age of 40. Their lungs were shrinking and slowly found it harder to breathe. If they hadn't turned into "the Reapers", as they had been called, they suffocated from their lungs completely shrinking and collapsing. Their skin greyed out and caved in to cover the organs, and abscesses flowed out their blood as the human stopped living and they degraded into a Reaper.

What exactly caused the virus outbreak is still unknown to this day, but the government of Broken France, the last surviving country, are doing their best to find the cause.

It's been said that one family was infected, but did not degrade at all. They were able to walk freely through the Reapers, as if they had recognized them as fellow Reapers. Throughout the years, this miraculous genetic flaw was passed down, though only one had survived as the virus had mutated, and killed the family off one by one.

The single surviver is out there today, in the year of 2188, and it is Adrien's job as a hunter to find them.

A/N: I made an adjustment a few attributes of the virus to fix a plot hole or two in later chapters I have planned. Thanks for reading!


	2. Havoc and Madness Come Into Play - Ch1

The Lucky Ones, Chapter 1 - Havoc and Madness Come Into Play

Something rotten suffocated the air as Adrien stepped outside into the early morning in Paris, capital of Broken France.

In the single year since his mother turned into a Reaper, he had turned 15 and risen through the ranks to lead and group of people in their mid teens to late 20's called the Parisian Cure Hunters, which was also attributed to his cat-like reflexes and sharp sense of sight and sound. He was determined to not let anyone else be lost to the virus.

As the leader, he worked the full day, also scheduling the next day's shifts for his hunters. They worked in small areas at a time, ensuring that every possible hiding place was searched. Today, they were searching in the South Paris quadrant.

The sun shone down through the polluted clouds above, and Adrien checked his weaponry, kneeling down just outside the Safe Zone.

A full round of bullets? Check. Multiple clips? Check. Two concealed knives?

Adrien pat down the hidden pockets on his lower back, and felt them slightly push against his back. Check. These days, not even your fellow hunters could be trusted.

Once he was absolutely sure he had everything he needed for the day, Adrien set off to the meeting point in South Paris.

The quadrants were small squared off areas that were part of a larger quadrant - Paris. From there, they expanded larger and larger, to cover the entirety of Broken France. The Paris quadrant was a part of the Papillon quadrant.

As Adrien neared the meeting place for the group, he thought back to the lecture he had heard so often from his father, he could recite himself word for word.

 _"_ _Now, Adrien, you must survive this virus. You must find the Cure for us all. The fate of Broken France's population rests to you and your hunters. Do not fail me._ "

His father was slowing down as he was nearing 34, but still managed to suffocate the air as much as the rot did. Adrien almost wished he was gone as well. But he guessed he just didn't understand his father well.

He didn't notice he had already arrived, pushing the thought of his father's stern face out of his mind with a sigh. Luckily, the rest of today's group had already arrived, yet one was missing.

"Where's Chloé?"

Mylène, a shy 14-year-old, piped up. "Mr Agreste, her mother died this morning."

Adrien was taken aback. He had grown up with Chloé and her family was quite important to him. Her mother was nearing the age of turning but it still came as a shock.

With a deep sigh, he muttered, "May we have a moment of silence for Madam Bourgeois?"

No one objected and so, Adrien lowered his head and closed his eyes as memories of Chloé's mother flooded his head.

 _Her comforting nature growing as Adrien's own mother passed the previous year. Her embellishing of the standard wear inside the Safe Zone facility. Her fierce protective nature of himself and Chloé._

"Let's head out."

* * *

"Pair up and spread out. If any Reaper comes near, you know what to do. Sabrina, you'll be with Alix."

Everyone else settled with their usual partners, while Sabrina and Alix shared an uneasy look. It was well known that they seldom got along, but for today, they made do.

Adrien set off unaccompanied, focusing as he drowned the noise of the other hunters out. He was sure that this would be like every other day; continually losing hope then gaining it again knowing that there was less area to search for the Cure.

By midday, he needed to sit and reload his chamber for the third time.

"There's so many out here today," he muttered to himself, "this will surely need to be reported to Sabrina's dad."

As he moved to stand and replace his protective gear, he saw a shadow move in the corner of his eye. His head whipped around as the bush moved and slowly, carefully, made his way over, as silently as he could. As he moved, he brushed by a Reaper corpse that bend over and hit his arm. He bit back a scream, then bent down, and lifted some branches out of the way.

A small teenager was hiding underneath, dirty and scratched, with fear covering her face. _She looks around my age,_ Adrien noticed.

"P-please… leave me alone…"

Adrien almost gave in to her plea, then shook it from his mind and asked, "Please, you'll need to come with me. You have the Cure, don't you?"

Her eyes immediately welled with tears, knowing she had been caught.

"Yes, but please, I'm the only one left. Please leave me alone!"

Her voice broke, and so did Adrien's heart. He gently took her arm and led her out of the bush.

When she moved to stand, her body collapsed, but Adrien caught her just before she hit the ground. He called for the group to meet back, and picked her up. She had passed out as he arrived back, with the group in a mix of hope, excitement, wariness and confusion.

"We found it. We found her."


	3. Moving On - Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks so much for the support so far! Review answering time: Ugly-Duckling123- I guess it is kinda like a zombie apocalypse thing, though I took my inspo from a movie called "The Girl With All The Gifts" because that's what I thought it was like at first but when I looked it up I was like "oh right this is my own thing okay" ahaha. sockdragon - I hope you'll continue to read and be intrigued! Scarlett-95 - I will definitely try to make longer chapters as I write, thanks for your initial support!

* * *

Chapter 2 - Moving On

The walk back to the Safe Zone was a short and quiet one, but not at all peaceful. Every so often one of them took care of a Reaper, and with every shot, the young girl flinched in her sleep. Adrien learnt to hold her head against his chest and cover her other ear so she wasn't disturbed. _She deserves the rest, after being on the ride for so long,_ Adrien thought to himself.

As they arrived back at the entrance, Adrien turned to the group and spoke, "Now I expect you to remain calm and professional in there. We may have just found the Cure but she is still human and deserves to be treated as such. Understood?"

They all nodded, and entered the filtration chamber. Adrien gently shook the girl awake and explained to her the process.

"This makes the air clean so we don't bring in any bacteria from the outside. When we're done here, I'll take you to our medical lab so we can have you fed and cleaned before we start trials tomorrow."

She sleepily nodded, and promptly passed out again.

They passed through uneventfully and walked past the gaping receptionist.

"M-M-Monsieur Agreste? Is that the Cure?"

"Yes, Penny, she is. Please call ahead to Nadja so she can prepare Medical Lab 2."

"Y-Yes, Monsieur Agreste."

Penny clicked a few buttons, shaking with excitement, and her voice faded away as Adrien continued down the hall.

The trip to the medical labs was a brief one, the nervousness of it all still bearing on the group, like a heavy fog on a cold morning.

As they arrived at the labs, Adrien noticed his father was also sitting in the observation chamber with Nadja. _He just had to see if I had done something right in his eyes,_ Adrien thought bitterly, as Nadja rushed to place the girl on a stretcher.

"Oh poor thing, she's filthy! And her body is all bone! We need to get some food into her before she takes a proper shower. Max, can you please assist me?"

"Of course, Nadja."

Max and Nadja moved the stretcher into the testing chamber, and Max carefully guided a feeding tube down her throat as Nadja wiped some dirt off her face with baby wipes.

"Why are you all still here? This isn't part of your job. Take the rest of the day off."

Adrien jumped at the voice of his father, momentarily forgetting his frail presence. The hunters uneasily eyed Gabriel, then subtly turned their gaze to Adrien, to which he gave the slightest of nods to dismiss them.

"Son, you've done well, IF she is indeed the Cure."

"Thank you Father, I-"

"Therefore, you will be overlooking her testing."

Adrien stopped short, and stuttered slightly.

"B-But Father, my job was to find her. What if I-"

"Your job reassignment is to oversee her testing, and that's final. Let's say it is your… reward for the dedication you've shown over the past year."

"I… yes, Father."

"Good. Now, I must leave, I'm quite tired." And with that, Gabriel left the room, aided by his walking cane. Adrien sighed with exhaustion, and looking towards the girl.

* * *

"Hey, where am I? What's going on?!"

The girl woke again around 9 the next morning, after it was clear to Adrien she was not going to wake up for a while. He sat at the speaker, Nadja beside him, and pressed a button to give him sound.

"Please don't worry, you're safe now."

"I said, where am I?!"

"You're in the Safe Zone of Paris, in Broken France. My name is Adrien Agreste, and I found you yesterday."

Her eyes flashed with anger and desperation as the handcuffs on her wrists and ankles jingled violently. Nadja spoke up, seeing her distressed state, "Honey, please stop moving. We've given you a feeding tube so you didn't starve and soon we can bathe you so you won't be dirty anymore! How does that sound?"

"I don't WANT to be fed by you, I don't WANT to be bathed by you people! You're as bad as the monsters out there! M-my family… they're gone too…"

Adrien's heart broke again as he watched her break into quiet sobs, collapsing back onto the bed.

"We don't mean you any true harm- uh, what is your name?"

"I… um, I haven't heard it in a long time. I think it's… Marinette?"

Adrien smiled. "Isn't that a pretty name? The woman next to me who will be treating you is Nadja. She is very experienced in medical work and will give you the best care, Marinette."

"Honey, please let us explain the process. We have a few older people who are close to becoming Reapers that have volunteered to be tested on. We will be routinely taking blood, skin, and urine samples from you so that we can test how to administer it, what properties are actually in you and what affects those properties. We will give you the best care you will have known in your lifetime, trust me."

Marinette sat up slightly, and it was clear to Adrien that she had accepted her defeat and was resigned to a lifetime of testing.

"I… I just don't want to be hurt anymore. Please. I'll let you test on me but please don't hurt me."

Satisfied with this answer, Adrien said, "Thank you very much Marinette, you probably just saved our population. We will give you a week to settle in and gain back proper health before we begin." With that, Adrien left the room.

As he closed the door, his thoughts drifted to his father. He needed his advice.

Approaching his door, Adrien knocked and called out, "Father? It's Adrien. Can I come in and speak with you?"

Silence met Adrien's question, and he entered the room anyways. His father was reading a book.

"Adrien, I don't want guests right now. Come back later," he spoke, without glancing up in Adrien's direction. Adrien's face fell and he moved forward to say, "Father, I… I need ad-"

"Adrien, I said leave me alone."

Hurt marring his features, Adrien turned on his heel and fled the room, the beginning of tears forming in his eyes.


	4. Day 1 - Chapter 3

The Lucky Ones, Chapter 3 - Day 1

* * *

 _1 week later._

Adrien awoke not 2 hours after he fell asleep, for the first day of testing. He was still yet to see his father, and while the remnants of yesterday's tears were stained on his face, he was ready to see Marinette.

After showering, changing, and eating in the cafeteria, he arrived in the observation chamber of Medical Lab 2 promptly at 9am.

"Good morning Adr- Adrien, how long did you sleep?" Nadja's tone shifted from warm to stern. "It won't do you any good to start your first day on such little sleep! Are you sure you don't want to cancel to-"

"Nadja, I appreciate your concern, but it is the first day of testing. We cannot cancel just because I'm a little tired. Is she ready?"

Nadja just blinked, but after a few seconds stuttered out, "Y-Yes, Adrien. She's ready." They turned to the screen where Marinette was watching them carefully, and Nadja pressed a button to speak.

"Good morning Marinette, how are you feeling?"

Marinette smiled weakly, and said, "Better than I've ever been in my life, honestly. I've never been fully fed or clean of dirt like I am now."

"That's good, my dear. Are you ready for testing today?"

To this, her smile fell slightly, but she nodded regardless.

Adrien turned to Nadja.

"Send them in."

Nadja pressed another button, and 5 people of varying degrees of illness walked, or were pushed on their wheelchairs, in.

"Marinette, these are the people in your first round. Left to right, is Jagged Stone, or just Stone; Alec Cataldi; Guerrilla, Adrien's bodyguard; Marlena Cesáire, Alya's mother; and Anarka Couffaine, Juleka's mother. Stone is a former musician who performed for the teens and younger children until he couldn't breathe properly, and Alec was announcer each morning for weather, birthdays, and more."

All muttered grateful words and praise for Marinette, though one stepped forward; Marlena.

"Marinette, I know my daughter was a part of the expedition that found you and I wanted to tell you how grateful we are as a family."

As Marinette listened, Nadja noticed she had started to tear up and rushed in with a vial.

"Any fluids you produce needs to be collected, sweetheart. Keep crying!"

Marinette dutifully continued to cry, as she stuttered out, "N-no one has c-cared for me that way in a l-l-long ti-i-ime. Thank you for your k-k-kind words."

Nadja filled vial after vial until there were enough for each participant to test, then stood to face them.

"Marlena and Guerilla, I want you to drink the tears. The rest of you, please rub it over your chest. If it sinks into your skin it could sink into your lungs and have some effect there. Drinking it may spread the possible benefits through the bloodstream in the small intestine. In the meantime, we will keep you here for observation, in Medical Lab 3."

They said their goodbyes to Marinette, then moved to the next chamber.

Adrien was bewildered.

"That's it? That's what I'm observing? What happened to the scheduled testing?"

"Adrien, she involuntarily produced fluids we could use, I-"

"I don't care! That is not what we were testing today, and it was not the proper administration methods!"

"Adrien, please, she was just doing her job."

Adrien turned to Marinette as she piped up, but couldn't hold his rage back to her meek words.

"What would you know, Marinette? You've been here a week after living your life in hiding, and that turned out well didn't it? DIDN'T IT?!"

He didn't notice her tears threatening to spill over her eyes as he left the chamber, slamming the door behind him. He didn't notice he was also crying until he pushed his back against the door and slid down, cradling his head in his lap. _I just wish I could do something right, so my father doesn't think I'm a failure. I could've saved Mom._ And there Adrien stayed for half an hour, until he pulled himself together enough to head back to his room and take a nap.

* * *

At 3:00 PM, Adrien found himself in front of Marinette's lab door, his arm raised to knock. _What am I doing here? Why would she want to see me?_ He almost decided to turn around and leave, but figured it wouldn't change anything between them. He found it refreshing to have a new face around the facility.

 _Knock, knock._

"Uh, who's there?" Marinette's timid voice called.

"It's, uh, it's Adrien. May I come in?"

"Did you come to yell at me again?" Her tone changed to become slightly accusatory.

Adrien sighed, and let himself in.

"Marinette, I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm so sorry." He moved from in front of the door to standing at her bedside, not chancing sitting down on the bed. He did, though, reach out to lightly take her hand. "I could not imagine losing my entire family in such a world out there, and being alone for so long. I might've just been sleep deprived but that is not an excuse. Please forgive me, Marinette."

Marinette had remained silent for the duration of his monologue, mouth somewhat hanging open and eyes watering up.

With a giggle, she said, "Do you want to collect these tears before they are wasted?"

"I-" Was all Adrien got out before dissolving into laughter, Marinette quickly following suit. They laughed for a few minutes, relishing in the seeming normality of their situation. A couple of teenagers laughing over a dumb joke.

"Oh- hahaha, okay Adrien, seriously, take the tears."

He quickly grabbed three vials, slightly shaking from remnants of the laughter from moments before, and collected her tears. He stared down at the vials, clear but with the obvious surface level of the fluids bobbing about inside.

"What are you thinking, Adrien?"

"I…" He looked up to see the confused, but concerned look on her face, eyes moving quickly between his face and the vials. "I… kind of want to test the vials myself."

"Yo-"

"I know, I could get into a lot of trouble for it. But I want to feel the effects for myself, you know?"

"I… I guess you're right, Adrien. I won't tell Nadja."

He smiled softly at her. "Thanks, Marinette."

With a soft _pop_ , he removed the stopper from one vial, and quickly poured it into his mouth, disposing of the vial in the nearby waste bin. Immediately, he felt something warm in his chest, spreading to his fingertips. He raised his hands, almost to inspect them, then turned his head to face Marinette, grinning.

"I think it's working."


	5. Day 2 - Chapter 4

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Happy to have gotten this up before 2019, and now that I'm out of school permanently I'll try to upload every Sunday! For realsies this time. Love y'all!

* * *

The Lucky Ones, Chapter 4 - Day 2

* * *

At 9:00 am sharp, Adrien entered the observation chamber. His eyes droopy once again from a rough night of sleep, it took him a few seconds to adjust to the change in lighting. He was, however, shocked to see his father facing the Medical Chamber, turning to address Adrien.

"Good morning, son. I've heard about your little stunt yesterday, so I've come to… observe today's testing." With this, Gabriel Agreste turned back to Marinette, and pressed a button. "Marinette, is it? I am Gabriel Agreste, and I run the Medical Department of Broken France. I am only here today after yesterday's unfortunate events."

"Yes sir. Though, uh, I know he was just stressed. I understand how hard it is to lose family."

Gabriel Agreste grimaced at this. "Yes, it is. Nadja, please go on."

Stone, Alec, Guerrilla, Marlena and Anarka entered the room, visibly more relaxed than the previous day.

"Good morning everyone!" Nadja was cheerful as always, though after the previous day it seemed almost forced. "How are we feeling after yesterday's tear trial?"

Marlena was the first the speak up. "Almost instantly, I felt something warm spread in my chest to my finger tips. I got a much better night's sleep than I have in a long time!"

"As did I," chimed in Stone. "I could sing a verse and chorus for my niece when she visited me last night! Wanna hear? Ni-"

"Thank you, but we need to get on," cut in Gabriel. Adrien could see Marinette struggle to keep a frown off her face. "I assume everyone's else had the same results?" Everyone shrugged or nodded their heads. "Good. Now Nadja, what is planned for today's testing?

Nadja flipped through to the day's notes. "Today, Mr Agreste, we are collecting saliva samples to be rubbed on the chest once again, or ingested. Those who ingested her tears yesterday will switch to having it rubbed on their chest, and vice versa. We will also be collecting a sample to examine."

Adrien winced. _Yuck. Might sit this one out later._ Marinette looked between Gabriel and Adrien, then tilted her head as if to say, _who is running this trial?_

Nadja removed the stoppers from six vials, then instructed Marinette to spit into them. Not moving her eyes from the father-son duo, she did as she was told. Nadja, following her eyes, frowned when she realized what she was staring at. To Marinette she whispered, "I know their relationship is a bit strange, but it's best not to pry, Marinette."

"Sure, Nadja," Marinette replied, not at all sounding convinced.

After each vial was filled and sealed, they were handed off to the somewhat wary patients, who left the room accompanied by Nadja. Gabriel turned to Adrien.

"Is this all that happens?"

"Yes, but-"

"And you couldn't even finish it competently without my presence?"

"I-"

"I'm disappointed, Adrien."

Adrien sighed. "I know, Father."

"…But, seeing as you were able to behave today, I will give you another chance to lead this trial. If I hear anything else, I will be forced to retire you and I will take over."

Slightly stunned, Adrien just blinked. "I… yes, Father."

With that, Gabriel left the room. Adrien turned back to face the controls in the chamber and sat down.

"Adrien? Are you okay?"

He jumped, forgetting Marinette was on the other side of the glass.

"I… it's fine, Marinette. This is normal."

"It shouldn't be. It's been… a while, but my family never treated me that way for making a mistake, and you know any mistake could have cost my life."

"I- look, Marinette, I know that but it's just how things have been with me and my father for a while now. Please just… drop it."

Marinette sighed. "Of course, Adrien. I'll see you later?"

He smiled. "Sure, I'll come by later."

* * *

Impatient knocking disturbed Adrien from his book, not two hours later.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

On the other side was a flustered Nadja, hairs falling out of her usually perfect bun and her jacket rumpled.

"A-Adrien… I… wait a second…"

"Nadja, are you okay? Is Marinette okay?"

"…Y-yes… I-I-I mean no! No, you need to come to Medical Lab 1 right away!"

Adrien hurriedly set his book on his bedside table and left his room, struggling to keep up with Nadja's jogging.

"Wait, what exactly happened?"

"I don't know! Something in her cells changed from yesterday!"

"Changed? Like what?"

"Y-You'll see."

They jogged through a few more hallways, turning every so often, and arrived at the lab. Quickly swiping her ID, Nadja led Adrien inside and to the particle separator.

"Look, look at the results!"

"They're…"

The molecules of the tears appeared to be loosely connected and tinged blue, but connected nonetheless. The molecules of the saliva, however, were depicted as a rich, royal blue, and tightly packed together, with no space between them.

"Nadja, what does this mean?"

"I… I don't know, Adrien."


	6. Day 3 - Chapter 5

The Lucky Ones, Chapter 5 - Day 3

A/N: I am so sorry this chapter took so long to write! I came home back to Aus and so I settled back into home life and promptly forgot about writing. I fluffed a bit near the end, hope y'all enjoy!

* * *

Despite the shocking results the previous day, Adrien had gotten a better night's sleep than he had for a long time. He supposed it had something to do with his visit to Marinette after the surprise, with her becoming more relaxed around him.

 _Flashback._

 _Adrien knocked on Marinette's door._

 _"_ _Who is it?" Marinette called, sounding happy._

 _Adrien chuckled. "It's Adrien! Can I come in?"_

 _"_ _Of course!"_

 _Adrien let himself in, and walked over to her bedside, not hesitating to sit on the bed this time._

 _"_ _What are those?"_

 _"_ _These are called books, they are filled with words that you read and every one is different. It feels like it's own world inside some pieces of paper!"_

 _"_ _Oh! Um…" At this, Marinette looked sheepish. "I, uh, I don't know how to read."_

 _"_ _Oh… oh, of course you don't. I- haha, I didn't even think of that."_

 _Marinette looked crestfallen. Adrien, for the third time in one day, was shocked. He really didn't think of the differences between their childhoods. He was learning to read while she was probably learning how to hide._

 _"_ _Do you… do you want to learn how to read?"_

 _Marinette lifted her head and smiled softly. "I'd love to."_

 _Flashback over._

Adrien entered the observation chamber. "Good morning Nadja, Marinette. Ready for today?"

"Well, Adrien, since the first day of testing I haven't seen you this well-rested or… happy, really," Nadja was beaming to see him, but noticed his soft gaze at Marinette. "What's changed?" She teased.

"Oh! Uh, well, nothing really, haha. Just, uh, throwing myself into work now. Having Father in yesterday just really changed it a bit for me I guess." He lightly blushed and averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck. "What are we testing today?"

"Today, we will be taking blood and a few skin cell samples, both dead and living layers," At this, Nadja turns to Marinette. "Today will definitely hurt a bit. Are you okay with this?"

Marinette looked pale and faintly ill, but swallowed and nodded. "I can take a little bit of pain."

Nadja paused for a second, and Adrien watched her think. "Actually, Adrien… do you want to sit in the chamber for this one? It might make her a bit more comfortable with this process."

His mouth opened slightly, and he glanced at Marinette to gauge her reaction. She seemed to look visibly happier at the thought of Adrien by her side during this process, so he turned to nod at Nadja. "I'll be right in."

He left the observation chamber and entered Marinette's chamber. Nadja hid a smile at how easy they were with each other, in such a short amount of time. "Right, shall we get started? Let's bring in the patients," She said as Adrien sat down next to her on the bed. She moved to the other door in the room and pressed a switch hidden in the wall, then turned back to face the two. "Okay! So, today everyone will have the blood injected into their blood stream, and some living skin cells placed over some of the scars. Dead skin cells will also be placed over other scars to monitor the differences…"

As Nadja continued, Marinette turned to Adrien and whispered, "Have you ever had blood taken?"

Adrien ducked his head. "Every newborn since the original outbreak had their blood tested in case they were immune. I don't remember it, though."

Marinette looked unsure, and whispered, " _Please don't let go._ "

Adrien squeezed her hand, not breaking eye contact. " _Never_."

Nadja turned to face them. "Are you ready, Marinette?"

Marinette gulped, and nodded. "Let's get it over with."

Nadja smiled sympathetically, and looked over her equipment to ensure its quality. She snapped on her plastic gloves and picked up the cannula.

Seeing that Marinette was watching Nadja prepare with increasing nervousness, he gently brought his free hand up to her chin and turned it to face him. " _Just focus on me, okay? Just look at me._ "

 _Was it his imagination, or did she_ lean _into his touch?_

"Right! All done!" Nadja's voice jarred into his head and both he and Marinette jumped and broke eye contact.

"It's… done? I didn't even feel it…"

"Well, now, no need to sound disappointed! We might need to do it again in the future so you'll have your chance," Nadja teased as she finished filling the final vial. "I'll be sending this last one off to the lab, and the lot of you will have them injected into your blood stream in the next hour."

"Now, we need to collect the skin cells. I'll collect them from the palm of your other hand, so Adrien if you will come over here please…"

He let go of her hand, regretting the few seconds he didn't have contact with her as he switched sides.

"Oh shoot, Adrien can you pass me that scalpel? Forgot to grab it."

"'Course, Nadja."

He leaned away from the cot to grab it, letting go of Marinette's hand again, and accidentally cut her palm as he switched hands. "Shoot." He grabbed a vial and started to collect the blood.

"That I felt," Marinette said as she winced.

"Good idea Adrien, the more we collect the better! Though, I will need a sterile scalpel now."

"Yeah, of course Nadja."

Adrien stood to grab another scalpel, and slipped the vial of blood into his pocket, grabbing a few cotton balls and medical tape to lightly bandage Marinette's hand. He made sure to reach over the top of Marinette this time as to not cut her again.

"That's… sure a sharp thing there, Nadja."

"It's used to cut things open, as Adrien so kindly demonstrated to you, but also to cut small layers, as I'm about to show you. Now, as I won't be going very deep, this shouldn't bleed, but you probably don't want to look at it ei-"

"Nadja, why is testing taking so long? And why is Adrien in the chamber?"

Tension in the room rose as Gabriel's presence was made known. Marinette paled visibly as Adrien reddened slightly.

"W-Well, I th-thought that Marinette might be mor-"

"Comfortable? Her comfort is of no matter, only the specimens she produces. Adrien, you're dismissed for the day."

"Father, I-"

"I'm not asking you, Adrien."

He sighed, and glanced at Marinette.

"Yes, Father."

As he walked towards the door he could have sworn he heard her whimper, but that could've been Nadja collecting the skin cells, right?

* * *

 _Knock knock knock._

Adrien was startled from his nap as he heard a rushed knock on his door. He groggily made his way over as the knocking continued.

"N-Nadja? Is something wrong with the results?"

Out of breath, she replied, "It happened again but… but the blood sample is different. It doesn't show the same a-atom bond as the skin sample."

"It.. it what?"

"We need to do further testing but, I think we should hold testing for now. We need to find out exactly how she produced different atom bonds within minutes of each other."

"Wait so, what does this mean for Marinette?"

Nadja smiled wearily. "She gets a break from testing, and given permission from your father, will be allowed out to meet the people here."

"So, she'll get to make friends and live normally?"

"Yes, but you are solely in charge of her. Understand?"

"I understand. Thanks, Nadja."

She beamed. "Any time Adrien. Now, I must get back to work. Enjoy the rest of your day."

She left promptly, and Adrien wasted no time in going back to sleep, only this time, thinking of Marinette.


	7. A Friend Indeed - Chapter 6

The Lucky Ones, Chapter 6 - A Friend Indeed

"Are you sure your father is okay with us being here?"

"If he's fine with her roaming the facility with me, I'm sure he's fine with you two visiting her in the lab."

Marinette seemed to like Alya and Nino, especially as they had introduced her to strawberries in the cafeteria. Adrien swiped his card and moved to let them through.

"Hi Marinette!"

Marinette, who was staring at the bookshelf opposite the door, turned with a smile. "Alya!"

The fast friends met in the middle of the room and hugged the other.

"What, no love for the bringer of strawberries?"

Marinette giggled and, releasing Alya, immediately wrapped her arms around Nino's middle.

Adrien stood back, just watching them interact. Since testing had paused a week prior, his father allowed her to explore the facility, under his care. When he had introduced her to Alya and Nino, they were instantly taken with her, and spent time teaching her about the history of Broken France, the infected side of the virus and helping her learn how to read and write. So far, she could write all of their names, basic filler words such as "the", "of", "and" and "but", and was learning the terms Nadja used in the lab.

"Adrien, come join us!"

He chuckled and joined the group, and was startled when Marinette tackled him with a hug as well, before wrapping his arms around her as well.

"You've decorated nicely in here."

Marinette, with Gabriel and Nadja's permissions, had added some personal touches to her lab room. Her stretcher bed now had a coloured sheet and quilt set, she had a bookshelf with some story and picture books, on which also sat a photo of the four of them, and she had tied some ribbons around the medical equipment in the room. "Makes me feel more at home," she said when proudly showing it off to them. "Plus, those sheets feel a lot nicer than the scratchy ones I had on before." She turned to Nino. "Where are you hiding the strawberries?"

Everyone started laughing, then Nino opened the punnet and passed one to Marinette, then to Alya and Adrien, then chose one for himself. They sat down in a circle on the floor and just talked about their day, sharing jokes and being normal teenagers. Eventually, Alya and Nino excused themselves with a sly smile, taking the now empty punnet for disposal, and Marinette lay her head in Adrien's lap, exhausted.

"Being in hiding is tiring, but having friends is _more_ exhausting. Just can't be bothered getting into bed," was her excuse, at which Adrien let out a deep laugh. "You can lie here as long as you need," he said, brushing some hair from her eyes.

He leaned back against the end of her bed, as they just stared into each other's eyes, enjoying the other's company. After a while, Marinette had closed her eyes slightly, almost falling asleep, before she spoke up, "Can I ask you something?"

Adrien, also almost asleep, glanced down at her. "Yeah, of course, what's up?"

"Uhh… about your dad…"

Adrien's eyes shot open at the mention of his father and tensed his body. "What about him?"

"Why does he treat you like that?"

Adrien was quiet for a moment. "Marinette, it's not easy to explain…"

"Will you try?"

"I-" he sucked in a breath, "Please don't ask me about him again."

"I'm sorry, Adrien, I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's okay, you didn't know."

There was a long pause, both of them feeling the tension and neither willing to break the silence.

"I… think I'm ready for a nap. Would you mind leaving?"

"No problem… I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Soon…"

In truth she did look exhausted, but Adrien saw the hint of sadness in her eyes, knowing he had put up walls and pushed her away. He had heard her bed sheets rustle as he exited the room with a sigh and headed back to his own room.

* * *

"Marinette, my mother died to the infection last year."

Only a day and a half later Adrien was in her room again after thinking more about it. They sat cross-legged on her bed, facing each other.

"He wasn't always like… that. I think he sees too much of her in me."

She hesitated, then gently laid a hand on her arm.

"I'm so sorry, Adrien."

"Marinette… can I ask you something now?"

"Yeah, of course." _She used the same line on me_ , he thought.

"What do you know about the cure you have?"

She froze, then sighed.

"Not… a whole lot. I know that the strength of it is affected by our feelings, but that's it."

A light in Adrien's head switched on.

"So, if you're mad or anxious, it will be less effective?"

"I don't know. Did something happen?"

"No, but I think you've just given us a breakthrough."

"Does that mean I'll go back to being stuck in here?"

He faltered. "Yeah, I think so. But I'll try to pull some strings so you can explore after we get samples, okay?"

Her eyes light up. "Thank you."

"I have to go tell Nadja and my father, but I'll be back to see you soon, alright?"

"Yeah, go do your science-y thing."

They both giggled, then Adrien hopped up from the bed.

"Adrien?"

He turned back, as Marinette leaned over from her bed and hugged him.

"I'm glad you found me."


	8. Day 4 - Back in Practice, Chapter 7

"Good morning everyone!" Nadja's chipper voice reverberated in the small room, excitement creeping into her otherwise professional voice.

"Marinette provided us with some essential information while on break and so we did some more testing over the week and had a breakthrough!"

Stone, Alec, Guerilla, Marlena and Anarka all applauded, hope relighting in their eyes.

"What does that mean for us?" Marlena enquired.

"We found that out of the samples collected, Marinette's tears and blood samples reversed more the disease's effects than the others. Two of you will be ingesting her tears for one week, two will have her blood injected into your veins every day and one will both ingest the tears and have small blood infusions. Guerilla, as the highest ranking member you will be the dual subject. Adrien, will you please step into the chamber?"

"B-But... my father, he-"

"-is coming to check on testing at a later time. You don't need to be worried about him."

Adrien opened his mouth, then closed it and nodded. Entering the chamber, he smiled to the test subjects and immediately took Marinette's hand as he reached her bedside, which she squeezed. She looked nervous but she was happy.

"We will start with taking her blood, if you can pass me the cannula, Adrien?"

With his free hand, he took the cannula and passed it to Nadja, who had prepared herself with plastic gloves. She cleaned the inside of Marinette's elbow with a small rubbing alcohol swab, at which she jumped slightly.

"That's a bit cold."

Nadja chuckled, "It is a bit chilly, but it'll dry quickly. Adrien, can you please collect any tears she may shed?" Carefully, she inserted the cannula into Marinette's vein, who took a deep breath and looked at Adrien.

"Oooookay, I'm feeling this one."

He squeezed her hand tighter, whispering, "Are you okay?"

Her eyes were frantic. "It's fine, I'm fine, I'll be fine, it's fine." Tears started to swell, at the brink of spilling and Adrien took some vials.

"I'm sorry, I need to let go for a second."

A rush of cold air filled the space between their hands as Adrien unstoppered the vials and collected her tears, filling four of them to the marked line. As he deposited them back on the vial rack, he found her hand again, bringing it to his lips as an apology.

"Are you okay? What are you feeling?" he whispered against her hand.

"It was scary but... at least I'm helping people. I think it should work," she whispered back.

He smiled, almost sighing in relief. He didn't want her to hurt anymore.

As Nadja finished collecting blood, Marinette had paled significantly. "Nadja, I'm not feeling very well..."

"I'm sorry lovely, that happens after a large amount of blood is taken. Adrien, can you please run to the cafeteria and get her something sugary?"

"Sure," he said before whispering to Marinette, "I won't be longer than five minutes, okay?"

"Okay."

He left the room, picking a strawberry muffin and chocolate milk from the cafeteria before making his way back. Turning into the hallway of the labs, he heard the stern voice of his father call, "Adrien!"

He froze, colour draining from his face. He slowly turned, "Father?"

"What are you doing out of the labs?"

"Uh... Nadja was taking a lot of blood from Marinette and she was becoming weak so she asked me to grab Marinette some food..."

"Hmm." He caught up to Adrien with his walking stick, sizing his son up. "I wasn't meant to check on the lab until this afternoon, but I suppose I can come by now."

"N-no, you-"

"No? Unless there's some reason why I should not come, I will be accompanying you back. Now."

"F-Father, she needs to remain calm in o-order to produce the samples w-we need."

"If she can't control her emotions then that's her fault, not mine."

He sighed, not knowing how else to stop him. He just hoped Nadja had gotten the rest of the tears from Marinette. "Let's go then, Father."

He led the rest of the way down the hallway, slowing his pace for his father and let him in the observation chamber. He excused himself to give the food to Marinette and entered her room, immediately seeing her eyes widened, frantic, and the tension in the room could be cut with a blunt knife. He handed her the muffin and placed the milk on her bedside, whispering to her and Nadja, "I couldn't stop him. Please, try not to let him affect you."

Marinette's eyes lowered, whispering back, "I-I... I'll do my best."

He reached for her hand, glancing back at his father who was visibly growing impatient, and pulled back. "I'll come visit when he's taking his afternoon nap, I promise."

The ends of her lips curled upwards though her smile did not quite reach her eyes. "Okay."

As he exited the room and entered the observation chamber, he could hear his father as Nadja for the week's testing schedule.

"W-Well, sir, I've been collecting samples for the week-"

"Yes, weakening her. I heard. My question is, why didn't you do it day by day instead of nearly killing her in one day?"

Nadja's eyes widened. "I-I was just going by the department's p-procedures, sir..."

"Hmm. So, the week?"

"Y-Yes, sir... Stone and Anarka will be administered with Marinette's tears and Marlena and Alec will be having blood infusions. Guerrilla, at your request will be administered both."

"Thank you, Nadja. Once you've collected the final samples, you may leave."

Adrien sighed, watching Nadja purse her lips and turn to Marinette, lowering her head. On the inside of the chamber, Nadja mumbled to Marinette, "I got into this job path to care for patients and give them a comfortable life, for as long as we could live. Some people make me think it's not worth it..." She gave Marinette a small smile. "But you are."


End file.
